Alvin Tan clarifies incident involving AVS’ handling of pet owner’s complaints

In parliament on Tuesday (May 5), Minister of State for National Development Alvin Tan said he wanted to set the record straight on a case that had been raised by MP Jamus Lim regarding the death of a constituent’s dog. Mr Tan said Assoc Prof Lim had made “a clear inference that the Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) had not conducted its investigation on (the pet owner’s) complaints fairly, effectively and independently”. Mr Tan said having checked on the case, he found that Assoc Prof Lim knew that AVS had investigated the incident and found no negligence or misconduct by the vet, and had suggested that the pet owner consider pursuing a civil case. Mr Tan said MPs must be careful when putting out facts and making allegations against public officers, to be fair to them and uphold public trust and confidence in Singapore’s institutions.